Friday Links: Book News From Around The Internet

Every Friday, the staff at Literary Traveler will gather up the relevant book news from around the web, bringing it together in a handy post for book lovers to peruse. Enjoy!

The American Book Review asked several university professors to contribute some nominees to their list of America’s 40 Worst Books. Some of their choices are – in our humble opinion – debatable. They’ve included a personal favorite of mine, The Great Gatsby, on the grounds that it is “smug.” Also on the list: Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road and Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses.

On this day, in 1948, Jack Kerouac turned 26. He wrote in his journal: “Guess what?! – on my birthday today, wrote 4500-words(!) – scribbling away till six-thirty in the morning next day. A real way to celebrate another coming of age. And am I coming of age?” Check out Barnes and Nobel Review for more reflections.

Dave Eggers, novelist and founder of McSweeney’s, is also blowing out the candles on his birthday cake today. Help him celebrate (in spirit, if not in person) by checking out this fascinating interview with Eggers about his new book, Zeitoun.

Is it possible to become a famous poet simply through social networking? That’s the argument Jim Behrle made the other day when speaking to a crowd at the St. Mark’s Poetry Project. “Self promotion is the only kind of promotion left,” he said.